Abstract
The present study was designed to investigate a relationship between the ability to quickly perform a mental rotation (MR) task using body (particularly foot) stimuli and postural stability during unipedal and bipedal quiet stance. Twenty-four healthy young adults participated in this study to measure reaction times for the MR (stimuli: foot, hand, and car), postural sway values during unipedal and bipedal standings, and lower extremity functions. Results showed significant correlations between the reaction time for the MR of the foot stimuli (but not for hand and car stimuli) and some of postural sway values (total length of sway and mean velocity in the anterior–posterior direction) during unipedal standing (but not for bipedal standing). Consistently, participants who performed the MR task quickly showed significantly smaller sway values during unipedal standing than those who performed the task slowly. These findings suggest that the ability to mentally imagine the foot movement is likely to relate to postural stability, while involving a challenging postural task, such as unipedal standing. The reaction time for the MR of foot stimuli was also correlated with two-point discrimination (TPD) distance on the plantar skin. Given that the TPD distance not only represents cutaneous acuity but also reflects participants’ body image relating to their feet, MR performance may have been related to postural stability because both involve cognitive processes used for both motor imagery and motor execution of the foot movement.
References
Arzy, S., Overney, L. S., Landis, T., & Blanke, O. (2006). Neural mechanisms of embodiment: Asomatognosia due to premotor cortex damage. Archives of Neurology, 63(7), 1022–1025.10.1001/archneur.63.7.1022Search in Google Scholar
Day, B. L., Steiger, M. J., Thompson, P. D., & Marsden, C. D. (1993). Effect of vision and stance width on human body motion when standing: Implications for afferent control of lateral sway. Journal of Physiology (Paris), 469, 479–499.10.1113/jphysiol.1993.sp019824Search in Google Scholar
De Lange, F. P., Hagoort, P., & Toni, I. (2005). Neural topography and content of movement representations. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17(1), 97–112.10.1162/0898929052880039Search in Google Scholar
De Lange, F. P., Helmich, R. C., & Toni, I. (2006). Posture influences motor imagery: An fMRI study. NeuroImage, 33(2), 609–617.10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.07.017Search in Google Scholar
Fu, A. S., & Hui-Chan, C. W. (2005). Ankle joint proprioception and postural control in basketball players with bilateral ankle sprains. The American journal of sports medicine, 33(8), 1174–1182.10.1177/0363546504271976Search in Google Scholar
Gage, W. H., Winter, D. A., Frank, J. S., & Adkin, A. L. (2004). Kinematic and kinetic validity of the inverted pendulum model in quiet standing. Gait & Posture, 19(2), 124–132.10.1016/S0966-6362(03)00037-7Search in Google Scholar
Galton, F. (1899). On Instruments for (1) testing perception of differences of Tint and for (2) determining reaction time. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 19, 27–29.Search in Google Scholar
Gregg, M., Hall, C., & Butler, A. (2010). The MIQ-RS: A suitable option for examining movement imagery ability. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 7(2), 249–257.10.1093/ecam/nem170Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Hall, C. R., & Martin, K. A. (1997). Measuring movement imagery abilities: A revision of the movement imagery questionnaire. Journal of Mental Imagery, 21, 183–154.Search in Google Scholar
Heinen, T. (2013). Does the athletes’ body shape the athletes’ mind? A few ideas on athletes’ mental rotation performance. Commentary on Jansen and Lehmann. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 9(2), 99–101.10.5709/acp-0136-7Search in Google Scholar
Hurley, M. V., Rees, J., & Newham, D. J. (1998). Quadriceps function, proprioceptive acuity and functional performance in healthy young, middle-aged and elderly subjects. Age and Ageing, 27(1), 55–62.10.1093/ageing/27.1.55Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Hyde, C., Wilmut, K., Fuelscher, I., & Williams, J. (2013). Does implicit motor imagery ability predict reaching correction efficiency? A test of recent models of human motor control. Journal of Motor Behavior, 45(3), 259–269.10.1080/00222895.2013.785927Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Ionta, S., & Blanke, O. (2009). Differential influence of handsposture on mental rotation of hands and feet in leftand right handers. Experimental Brain Research, 195(2), 207–217.10.1007/s00221-009-1770-0Search in Google Scholar
Ishihara, M., & K. Imanaka. (2008). Visual perception and motor preparation of manual aiming: A review of behavioral studies and neural correlates. Visual Perception.Search in Google Scholar
Ishihara, M., Imanaka, K., & Mori, S. (2002). Lateralized effects of target location on reaction times when preparing for manual aiming at a visual target. Human Movement Science, 21(5–6), 563–582.10.1016/S0167-9457(02)00173-2Search in Google Scholar
Jansen, P., & Kaltner, S. (2013). Object-based and egocentric mental rotation performance in older adults: The importance of gender differences and motor ability. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 4(ahead-of-print), 1–21.Search in Google Scholar
Jansen, P., Lehmann, J., & Van Doren, J. (2012). Mental rotation performance in male soccer players. PLoS One, 7(10), e48620.10.1371/journal.pone.0048620Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Kaltner, S., & Jansen, P. (2014). Mental rotation and motor performance in children with developmental dyslexia. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(3), 741–754.10.1016/j.ridd.2013.10.003Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Kavounoudias, A., Roll, R., & Roll, J. P. (1998). The plantar sole is a “dynamometric map” for human balance control. NeuroReport, 9(14), 3247–3252.10.1097/00001756-199810050-00021Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Kawamichi, H., Kikuchi, Y., Endo, H., Takeda, T., & Yoshizawa, S. (1998). Temporal structure of implicit motor imagery in visual hand-shape discrimination as revealed by MEG. NeuroReport, 9(6), 1127–1132.10.1097/00001756-199804200-00031Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Kawasaki, T., & Higuchi, T. (2013). Immediate beneficial effects of mental rotation using foot stimuli on upright postural stability in healthy participants. Rehabilitation Research and Practice, 2013, 7.10.1155/2013/890962Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Lord, S. R., Clark, R. D., & Webster, I. W. (1991). Postural stability and associated physiological factors in a population of aged persons. Journal of Gerontology, 46(3), M69–M76.10.1093/geronj/46.3.M69Search in Google Scholar
Luomajoki, H., & Moseley, G. L. (2011). Tactile acuity and lumbopelvic motor control in patients with back pain and healthy controls. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(5), 437–440.10.1136/bjsm.2009.060731Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Morioka, S., Fukumoto, T., Hiyamizu, M., Matsuo, A., Takebayashi, H., & Miyamoto, K. (2012). Changes in the equilibrium of standing on one leg at various life stages. Current Gerontology Geriatrics Research, 2012, 516283.10.1155/2012/516283Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Moseley, G. L. (2004). Why do people with complex regional pain syndrome take longer to recognize their affected hand?. Neurology, 62(12), 2182–2186.10.1212/01.WNL.0000130156.05828.43Search in Google Scholar
Moseley, G. L. (2008). I can’t find it! Distorted body image and tactile dysfunction in patients with chronic back pain. Pain, 140(1), 239–243.10.1016/j.pain.2008.08.001Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Moseley, G. L., Zalucki, N. M., & Wiech, K. (2008). Tactile discrimination, but not tactile stimulation alone, reduces chronic limb pain. Pain, 137(3), 600–608.10.1016/j.pain.2007.10.021Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Olivier, G., Velay, J. L., Labiale, G., Celse, C., & Faure, S. (2004). Mental rotation and simulation of a reaching and grasping manual movement. Percept Mot Skills, 98(3 Pt 2), 1107–1116.10.2466/pms.98.3c.1107-1116Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Parsons, L. M. (1994). Temporal and kinematic properties of motor behavior reflected in mentally simulated action. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 20(4), 709–730.Search in Google Scholar
Rugelj, D. (2002). The relationship between innervation density and dynamic balance function. Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters, 7(1), 149–150.Search in Google Scholar
Schwoebel, J., Friedman, R., Duda, N., & Coslett, H. B. (2001). Pain and the body schema: Evidence for peripheral effects on mental representations of movement. Brain, 124(Pt 10), 2098–2104.10.1093/brain/124.10.2098Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Sekiyama, K. (1982). Kinesthetic aspects of mental representations in the identification of left and right hands. Perception & Psychophysics, 32(2), 89–95.10.3758/BF03204268Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Shepard, R., & Metzler, J. (1971). Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects.10.1126/science.171.3972.701Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Soames, R. W., & Atha, J. (1982). The spectral characteristics of postural sway behaviour. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 49(2), 169–177.10.1007/BF02334065Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Stanton, T. R., Lin, C. W., Bray, H., Smeets, R. J., Taylor, D., Law, R. Y., & Moseley, G. L. (2013). Tactile acuity is disrupted in osteoarthritis but is unrelated to disruptions in motor imagery performance. Rheumatology (Oxford), 52(8), 1509–1519.10.1093/rheumatology/ket139Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Steggemann, Y., Engbert, K., & Weigelt, M. (2011). Selective effects of motor expertise in mental body rotation tasks: Comparing object-based and perspective transformations. Brain and Cognition, 76(1), 97–105.10.1016/j.bandc.2011.02.013Search in Google Scholar PubMed
ter Horst, A. C., van Lier, R., & Steenbergen, B. (2010). Mental rotation task of hands: Differential influence number of rotational axes. Experimental Brain Research, 203(2), 347–354.10.1007/s00221-010-2235-1Search in Google Scholar
Wand, B. M., Di Pietro, F., George, P., & O’Connell, N. E. (2010). Tactile thresholds are preserved yet complex sensory function is impaired over the lumbar spine of chronic non-specific low back pain patients: A preliminary investigation. Physiotherapy, 96(4), 317–323.10.1016/j.physio.2010.02.005Search in Google Scholar
Winter, D. A., Patla, A. E., Ishac, M., & Gage, W. H. (2003). Motor mechanisms of balance during quiet standing. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 13(1), 49–56.10.1016/S1050-6411(02)00085-8Search in Google Scholar
Winter, D. A., Patla, A. E., Prince, F., Ishac, M., & Gielo-Perczak, K. (1998). Stiffness control of balance in quiet standing. Journal of Neurophysiology, 80(3), 1211–1221.10.1152/jn.1998.80.3.1211Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Winter, D. A., Prince, F., Frank, J. S., Powell, C., & Zabjek, K. F. (1996). Unified theory regarding A/P and M/L balance in quiet stance. Journal of Neurophysiology, 75(6), 2334–2343.10.1152/jn.1996.75.6.2334Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Zacks, J. M. (2008). Neuroimaging studies of mental rotation: A meta-analysis and review. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(1), 1–19.10.1162/jocn.2008.20013Search in Google Scholar PubMed
©2014 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Internal–External Motor Imagery and Skilled Motor Actions
- Sailing Video-Imagery: Impacts on Imagery Ability
- Effects of Imagery on Effort Perception and Cycling Endurance
- Relationship between Mental Rotation of Body Parts and Postural Stability during Quiet Stance
- A PETTLEP Imagery Intervention with Young Athletes
- A Comparison of Movement Imagery Ability Self-Report and Imagery Use in a Motor Task: A Preliminary Investigation
- A Phenomenological Investigation of Divers’ Lived Experience of Imagery
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Internal–External Motor Imagery and Skilled Motor Actions
- Sailing Video-Imagery: Impacts on Imagery Ability
- Effects of Imagery on Effort Perception and Cycling Endurance
- Relationship between Mental Rotation of Body Parts and Postural Stability during Quiet Stance
- A PETTLEP Imagery Intervention with Young Athletes
- A Comparison of Movement Imagery Ability Self-Report and Imagery Use in a Motor Task: A Preliminary Investigation
- A Phenomenological Investigation of Divers’ Lived Experience of Imagery